freewheelers all-paces rides and fall picnic

Today was the Princeton FreeWheelers All-Paces Rides and Fall Picnic. The Excellent Wife (TEW) and I like to go together; although we don't do the same ride, we go together, hook up after, and get to see a number of people we don't always see. There's a bit of chaos because the groups that go out are people who don't often ride together, so some of my fellow riders don't like the all-paces rides. Today's was no exception, but I was with a group of (mostly) experienced riders who were able to clean up the detritus of the unpredictability.

There will, of course, be a link to the picture album below... but before that, of course, I get to bloviate about my experiences on the ride. I went out on a ride with 18 or 20, and we split into a fast and a slow group. I'd promised the leader I'd sweep, and I kept track of the folks in the back. But we got to the top of the Assunpink, and got split by traffic on a left turn, and we lost track of the riders in the front! (If you're going to use a sweep, it's a good idea to make sure you let him see when then rest of the group makes a turn. Hrmph.)

The slow group wasn't that slow; it included Laura OLPH, Winter Larry, and John K,along with Andrew, Mindy (whom we met while volunteering at the Event), and another young woman whose name I didn't get. The anonymous young woman was initially hanging on the back, but after we got split up, she surprised me by catching up some distance on a long straightaway. (Remind me never to underestimate riders with whom I'm not acquainted). She later had a series of mechanical oddities, which turned out to be the computer pickup on her chainstay rattling in the spokes; it finally got bent too far in and was decapitated. Alas.

Our dropped ride tried to find the others at the Ptomaine Ptower in Clarksburg, then were unsuccessful in finding Roy's (which was apparently where some of the rest of the group went), and finally got to the Stonebridge in Allentown. From there, we took the straight route back to Mercer East for the picnic.

But you're here for the pictures, aren't you?

You can find the album here.